Puzzles by Type
Slocum's Classification is probably the most widely used classification for mechanical puzzles. James Dalgety has also published an even more detailed list of classification which he uses to group puzzles in his collection. See his classification page at The Puzzle Museum website.
We've sorted puzzles into more generalised groups to help you find the puzzle you're looking for so look for the + sign and expand the sub categories under this heading.
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Chinese Secret Opening Box – Good Fortune
Good Fortune will certainly be shining on you when you manage to crack...$15.41 -
Chinese Secret Opening Box – Good Luck
Perhaps it will be Good Luck that enables you to solve this puzzle. B...$15.41 -
Rollercoaster interlocking and dexterity and packing puzzle in one!
Rollercoaster interlocking and dexterity and packing puzzle in one! Yo...$27.27
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PANDAmonium at the Zoo
One Panda is outside the enclosure in this Zoo. Can you fit that Panda...$18.18 -
Gear Cube smooth turning twisty puzzle
This Gear Cube is very smooth turning. But be careful turning it too f...$10.91 As low as: $8.64 -
Cross Threaded nut and bolt puzzle
A new take on removing the nut from the bolt. Brian Young here at Mr P...$9.00
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Schieblehre Sliding Block Maze
Move the wooden tiles around inside the frame so that you can pilot th...$40.00 -
Free Willy take apart puzzle
You can clearly see the hole at the top where the ball bearing is mean...$43.64 -
OMPIC 4 piece frame packing puzzle
OMPIC stands for "One Minute Puzzle in Cage". One minute? A pretty opt...$34.55
Metagrobology is the study of puzzles.
A metagrobologist is a person who studies puzzles.
Metagrobolise means to puzzle, mystify, baffle or confound.
The words are uncommon in everyday use and the only reference in print that I could find was this quote from Rudyard Kipling's Stalky & Co in 1899 “It’s the olive branch,” was Stalky’s comment. “It’s the giddy white flag, by gum! Come to think of it, we have metagrobolized ’em.”
More recently many puzzlers have used the word metagrobologist to describe themselves. Wikipedia credits the American wire puzzle designer Rick Irby with first applying it to a puzzler in the 1970's but that's open to argument.
A search of the Oxford English Dictionary show no listings for either metagrbology, metagrobolise or metagrabologist so it seems the word is still puzzling us!